Glossary of Wine Terms - B

B

Balthazar

A large bottle containing 12 litres, the equivalent of 16 regular wine bottles.

Ban de Vendange

The official start of the harvest season in France.

Barrique

The French name for a 225 litre Bordeaux style barrel (Bordeaux hogshead). Will yield 24 cases of 12 bottles each.

Basic

A low cost entry level offering from a winery as opposed to its more expensive premium wine offerings.

Beerenauslese

A German term meaning approximately "harvest of selected berries". A Prädikat in Germany and Austria.

Bereich

A district within a German wine region (Anbaugebiet). Contains smaller Grosslagen vineyard designations.

The Berthomeau Report

Commissioned by French Ministry of Agriculture to better position the wine industry for the future.

Biodynamic Viticulture

Like biodynamic agriculture in general, biodynamic grape-growing stems from the ideas and suggestions of Rudolf Steiner (1861.1925), which predate most of the organic movement. The principles and practices of biodynamics are based on his spiritual/practical philosophy which includes understanding the ecological, the energetic, and the spiritual in nature.

Blind tasting

Tasting and evaluating wine without knowing what it is.

B.O.B.

An acronym for "Buyer's Own Brand" which refers to a private label wine owned by the restaurant or retailer that sells the wine.

Bodega

A Spanish wine cellar. Also refers to a seller of alcoholic beverage.

Bota

A cask of wine used to store Sherry with a capacity between 159 to 172 gallons (600-650 liters)

Bottle

A bottle is a small container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a "mouth." Modern wine bottles are nearly always made of glass because it is nonporous, strong, and aesthetically pleasing.

Brawny

Taste descriptor for hefty, Herculean red wines usually young and full-bodied. The strength of brawny reds does not equate eloquence.

Breathing

The interaction between air and wine after a wine has been opened. Breathing may take place while the wine is decanting.